In the early morning hours of July 4, 2022, 32-year-old Bryant Jones was driving through the City of Northwoods, a suburb in St. Louis County, Missouri, when his vehicle suddenly careened off the road. Police officers from the Northwoods department responded to the 3000 block of Fairchild Avenue around 12:17 a.m. after receiving reports of a car crash. Upon arrival, first responders discovered Jones’s vehicle had struck a street sign.
While initially appearing to be a traffic accident, a closer inspection revealed that the driver was suffering from a gunshot wound. Jones was urgently transported to a local hospital for life-saving treatment, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation was immediately turned over to the St. Louis County Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Bureau, who began piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting. Detectives eventually determined that the violence stemmed from a transaction arranged over the internet. Authorities alleged that Jones had been in contact with another man via social media messaging to set up a drug deal. The encounter turned deadly when the other party attempted to rob Jones, shooting him during the exchange before fleeing the scene.
Investigators identified the suspect as Henry H. Simmons, a 28-year-old resident of Ferguson, Missouri. In April 2023, prosecutors charged Simmons with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with Jones’s death. Court documents indicated that Simmons had orchestrated the meetup that resulted in the homicide. Months later, in August 2023, the legal proceedings concluded when Simmons reached a plea agreement with the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree accessory murder, leading to the dismissal of the remaining robbery and armed criminal action counts. A judge subsequently sentenced Simmons to serve 12 years in state prison for his role in the killing.
